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Mayan apocalypse: 100 places to see before the end of the world - part four

31. Yellowstone National Park Some 140 years have passed since President Ulysees S Grant signed the bill that made Yellowstone the world's first national park. Today, it remains one of the very best. Set in the heart of Wyoming, the geological features, flora and fauna found across its 2.2 million acres rivals anywhere on earth - think vast sub-alpine forests, mountains, canyons, lakes, rivers, sweeping grasslands and two-thirds of the world's geysers. Every year some three million-plus visitors arrive to hike, bike, camp, fish or simply gawp at the volcanic features - the otherworldy Grand Prismatic Spring and the Old Faithful Geyser draw the biggest crowds. For others it is the wildlife that is the main draw, whatever the season: the hot breath of bison herds as they graze on the grasslands in Summer, the clashing of antlers during the elk mating season in Autumn, the tracks of hungry coyotes and gray wolves criss-crossing the snow-covered hillsides in Winter or even the roar of a grizzly waking up from its slumber in Spring.